Category: Christmas

For the person who has everything. The one thing you can never get enough of (at least in this life) is holiness.Why not give the “Spiritual Gift Pack” for the friend or family member who is progressing steadily in their spiritual journey? This excellent collection includes Ralph Martin’s modern classic The Fulfillment of all Desire and its accompanying Study […]

“If human beings were fish, media would be the sea in which we swim.” This quote from Dr. Eugene Gan’s new book, Infinite Bandwith: Encountering Christ in the Media, is especially true as we approach Christmas. It’s almost impossible to find a radio station that is refraining from playing Christmas tunes continuously, and ABC Family’s “25 Days […]

From all of the staff at Catholics United for the Faith, we wish you and yours a blessed Christmas! On this beautiful feast day, a word from Pope St. Leo the Great (found in the Lay Witness archives): This is the day our Savior was born: What a joy for us, my beloved! This is […]

Jeff Ziegler suggests Botticelli’s Madonna of the Magnificat for our contemplation as we approach Christmas. Here’s just one beautiful detail: the Christ Child’s hand on top of His mother’s hand, as she writes the Magnificat. Jeff points us to the Web Gallery of Art, which has the full image, as well as some notes on […]

The Vatican is decorating for Christmas. That includes a HUGE Christmas tree in St. Peter’s Square. The AP reports: The Vatican says the 109-foot (33-meter) red spruce from Austria’s Piesting Valley is the tallest since Pope John Paul II started the tradition of setting up a tree in the square in 1982. . . . […]

Over at CUF.org, we’ve collected some family activities and blessings, along with a few great articles, to help you have a fruitful Advent and a blessed Christmas. Advent and Christmas Crafts and Activities

If you’ve ever wondered, debated, or even argued about how long to leave your Christmas decorations up, this item from CUF’s director of Catholic Responses, Eric Stoutz, is for you. What he sketches out can not only help us answer that question, but it can also teach us about living the liturgical seasons.

“Dearly beloved, today our Savior is born; let us rejoice. Sadness should have no place on the birthday of life. The fear of death has been swallowed up; life brings us joy with the promise of eternal happiness. “No one is shut out from this joy; all share the same reason for rejoicing. Our Lord, […]

When you think about it, doesn’t “Christmas Eve” sound like an apt title for the Blessed Virgin Mary? As Christmas day rapidly approaches, I thought our readers would appreciate a snippet of a sermon by St. Augustine, which is the reading for today’s Office of Readings (matins) in the Church’s liturgy: “Awake, mankind! For your sake […]

In case you haven’t heard, Dr. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, recently made the news for his comment that the account of the Magi is but “legend” and for calling into question other aspects of the Christmas story. Some observations: (a) Dr. Williams’ apparent desire to “debunk” aspects of the Gospel narratives is not unique to […]